A Different Approach
by Luminaries
Summary: An ongoing collection of short experimental fics inspired by a series of writing prompts. Will mainly revolve around Data. Spans from all seven seasons to beyond Nemesis. Constructive criticism very welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_1. She had underestimated him, a different approach was needed._

Cold silver eyes gazed down upon the scene from the upper levels of Engineering, shrouded in darkness and choked in a thick tangle of pipes and wiring. The shrill scream of the drill as it bored into the android's head filled the air. _Finding your weakness is only a matter of time. _

As her drones burrowed into her captive's brain and jacked directly into his positronic net, she studied the pale, uniformed figure clamped to the assimilation table with unusual interest. Before long, the information, the memories stored within his circuits began to cycle through her mind with increasing speed. _A flashing computer console. A game of... poker? A ginger feline. A smaller female android – 'Lal'? His own face, twisted in a malicious grin. Thousands of voices, like echoes in his head. _And not only images and memories, but thoughts, experiences...

Her gaze grew abstracted; she burrowed deeper, examining his every memory record and thought process until a pattern began to emerge. A constant drive that dictated his entire life, his way of being. A machine, seeking to be more... human? A contradiction. Strange. Perhaps this could be turned to her advantage.

While he could not be assimilated through the usual procedures, she now knew him, inside and out, realised the heights and depths of every strength and weakness, perceived – if not understood – his quest towards humanity.

A moment's consideration yielded an apt solution to the issue at hand. The amalgamation of human flesh and synthetic machine would bring him closer to perfection like the others. Only _this _transformation would be reverse-engineered, a contradiction to the Borg tradition. She sent the appropriate commands through the collective to bring the materials required for the procedure.

A flat smile flicked briefly across her lips as she continued to dig through the android's brain. It was all becoming clear, now. The emotion chip would aid in furthering her mission, beyond her initial tactic of simply coaxing him into submission. She would use his own hardware against him, supplying the android with the one thing still beyond his reach: true, tactile, _human _feeling. She would exploit his previously unrealised desires and needs by providing an outlet through which they could be expressed. She would introduce him to the intoxicating pleasures associated with flesh – _real _flesh, not that pale bioplast sheeting and subdermal sensors that posed as skin and sensory nerves.

And if pleasure failed to yield results... then pain would suffice. Either way, he would surrender to her. She was sure of that. She _would _have the access codes. And then, perhaps, she would have an equal at last.

* * *

**A/N: In an attempt to try to get back into creative writing again, I've been using some prompts to serve as sources of inspiration for some little fics. I only intended them to be drabbles but this one got out of hand. Will update sporadically as I find the time to write.**

**Edit: Changed some words to better portray the Borg Queen, thanks to CityDurl's useful feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

_2. Listen closely to the whispering._

He is alone on the bridge, gazing round at the empty consoles and thinking of what might have been. His face is haggard under the flashing red lights; he hates the thought of abandoning this ship - both familiar and foreign, a blend of old and new. A silent countdown is quietly ticking away the seconds before it will shatter into countless pieces and become just another wisp of cosmic dust in the endless vacuum of space.

The whispers again; their song. It rises swiftly in his mind, a terrible, echoing clamour. Until a single, clear voice threads its way among the cold mechanical chorus.

"_Captain_."

His eyes snap open; a potent mix of apprehension and guilt roils in his gut. _  
_

"Data."


End file.
